A Demigoddess and Her Beetle
by AwakeningEden
Summary: A collection of wonderbeetle drabbles, unrelated more often than not.
1. I'll Be Home

"Someone always has to be at the cave…" Jaime sighed for the fifth time, throwing a baseball up to the ceiling and catching it as it dropped. "And as the newest recruit you have to learn how everything works while there's down time….right, right…."

What he should be doing was celebrating Christmas Eve with his parents and Milagro, watching as his little sister squirmed over the presents underneath the tree. He should be with Tye enjoying the winter chill during their break. He should be anywhere but here.

"Why couldn't they recruit me after the New Year?" he said as he sat up on his bed and sighed again.

_This "team" does not suit us,_ the Scarab commented. _It hinders our goals and objectives._

"What goals and objectives?" Jaime growled, "You never say what they are!"

The Scarab was silent and Jaime scoffed. Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Jaime jumped off his bed and stalked out of the room, brows furrowed. He should be with his family, celebrating, laughing. He should be with his friends, sitting on the porch and screaming out Christmas carols. He should be anywhere but _here._

He was told there were a few other people who were at the Cave, but Jaime hadn't bothered picking up on their names. What did it matter? They weren't his family, they weren't his friends. They cringed and winced whenever he talked to the Scarab and had made no attempts to see past his constant squabbles with it. Three weeks. It had only taken three weeks for his whole life to flip around in one of the worst ways possible.

Jaime's feet made its way to living room, where he heard a string of giggles escape into the hall. Curious, he stuck half of his head into the entranceway and witnessed an intimate embrace between Lagoon Boy and Miss Martian. Taken aback, he scurried away, making his way towards the kitchen instead. He could at least make himself a turkey sandwich or something.

But before he could, a barrage of subtle humming and singing distracted him and his feet redirected to the main entrance. Once he was there, he noticed a blonde figure from up above him, swooping gold tinsel onto metal hoops. Jaime noticed a Christmas tree, fully decorated with trim and ornaments that had not been there before, presents bustling beneath it.

"Oh, Jaime!" the figure above whipped around and he recognized her to Wonder Girl, the one who had recruited him along with Nightwing. He hadn't talked to her much after that, but they had been on a mission or two where Jaime understood a tangle with her meant pain in some of the worst ways. "Happy Christmas Eve!"

"Happy Christmas Eve," Jaime called back to her, "Uh…Decorating the Cave by yourself?"

She giggled and glided down to where he was. "Yeah…the only people here at the moment are La'gann, M'gann and Garfield. Everyone else is at home with their family. Even Conner went away to Kent farm. My mom's on an archeology trip so…I decided to stay here and help out if I can. It's tough…"

Her face faltered and Jaime realized, "This is your first Christmas without her, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Wonder girl sighed, "I mean…never really celebrated that much, but…it's a tradition, you know? Time to be around family…people you care about…"

"Yeah, I do know," Jaime agreed.

A thick silence stood between them, and Jaime shifted at the uncomfortable predicament. What was he supposed to say to her? He was in the exact situation. He was really of no help at the moment…maybe he should just return to his room.

"Hey," she was the the first to break through the quiet, "My name is Cassie, by the way."

"Oh?" Jaime quipped, "That's a nice name."

"Thanks," Cassie smiled. "You know, this can be your home too."

"My home?" Jaime raised an eyebrow at that. "But I already have a home. I don't need - "

"What I meant was, uh," Cassie pursed her lips, her gaze drifting off. "That think of this your home away from home. We can be a family for you, like Nightwing said when we first met! I promise I'll help you. I would really like to be your friend!"

She stretched out her hand and smiled again, a surprising amount of goosebumps jumping across Jaime's arms. Happy he was wearing a jacket, he took her hand and shook it and gave her a smile of his own. "I would like to be your friend too…Cassie."

"Yay!" Cassie squealed and suddenly threw a couple yards of tinsel at him. "Now, could you be a dear and turn on your armor and help me with this? I know it's kind of a last minute request but I did buy you a Christmas present so - "

"Wait," Jaime said as his armor began to cover him, "You bought me a gift? But I didn't get you anything!"

Cassie giggled, "It's okay! Christmas is all about the giving spirit and everything. Maybe you'll repay me someday!"

Little did they know years from that day, Jaime would repay her in the best of ways, diamond and all.


	2. Practice Makes Perfect

*shamelessly steals X-Men Evolution technology*

"Alright, Blue, just like we practiced!" Cassie yelled from above him, reflecting a barrage of attacks with her silver cuffs.

"Got'cha!" Jaime replied as he whirled up towards her and in front of her. Charging up his canon, he blasted at the two mechas firing at them, any direct hits ricocheting off his armor. He was able to take out one of them while the other one dodged out of his reach. He grimaced and charged his canon again as Cassie emerged from behind him and moved in on the mecha.

"That is not what we practiced!" Blue yelled, his grimace trying to hide the small wave of fear coursing through him. He shouldn't be afraid. She could handle herself. Wonder Girl, stronger than him by far…

"Called improv!" Cassie countered as she smashed her leg into the mecha's side and both watched it collaspe onto the floor.

"Simulation complete," a metallic voice rang all around them. The burning buildings and the night sky washed away and was replaced by white walls and clear windows.

"Woo-hoo!" Cassie pumped her fists. "That was way too easy!"

"Yeah, but you didn't do it the way we were supposed to…" Jaime trailed, lowering himself to the ground and retracting his armor. "Remember what we practiced? I'm supposed to take out their artillery and then you go in and - "

"Smash them to pieces," Cassie finished for him. "I know, I know. But you took out one of them all by yourself and I wanted some fun! Didn't want you to get all the credit in the analysis reports."

"A-huh," Jaime stuffed his hands into his pockets. "Guess you're right. Still, would have been nice if it went as planned. We have been practicing that maneuver for a while."

Cassie grinned, "Yeah, I know. But cheer up! We'll do it next time. I promise."

At her words, she rushed up to him and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "Okay, partner?"

Jaime returned the smile, rubbing his fingers around the spot she kissed, "Okay…partner."

"By the way…" Cassie trailed as the walked outside of the simulator. "You know what else needs more practice between us?"

"Oh," Jaime cocked his head, his grin growing wider, "I think I might have an idea."

And just as he finished his sentence, he scooped Cassie up in his arms and raced towards his room, where he hoped much whatevering would commence. Cassie's rambunctious giggles traveled all across the cave and was an indicator that no one should disturb.


	3. Banter

"Ooo, nice shooting, Blue," Cassie's voice dripped into the sarcastic and Jaime could have growled. What was this girl's problem? Why did she continuously throw his mistakes back in his face? "You almost got him that time!"

"Who asked for your opinion, Girl Blunder?" Jaime asked, shamelessly stealing a line he heard from Kid Flash. "If I'm not mistaken, who got us in this predicament in the first place?"

"Who decided it was a good idea to turn left and into an ambush?" Cassie countered.

"Oh yeah, who's idea was it to separate with me in the first place?"

"Well, who decided to raise their hand and ended up going on this mission?"

"That has nothing to do with the mess we are in now!"

"Yeah, it does. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't be so compelled to - to - " Cassie suddenly stopped talking and huffed, turning around and crossing her arms.

"I….what? What are you talking about?" Jaime asked, confused.

"Just go away."

"We're kind of stuck here."

Cassie sighed. "Fine, let's just find a rendezvous point to the others. Okay?"

_This female is an enigma_, the Scarab said to Jaime as they exited out of the room from an above vent.

"You're telling me," Jaime mumbled.


	4. Bubbly

"_Because everytime I see your bubbly face, I get the tinglies in a silly place…" _

Jaime's interest was piqued at the sound of the singing, familiar, pretty, and a bit off-key. He closed in on the target and made his way into the kitchen, smiling when he found the source.

Cassie had her headphones on and was in the process of making a sandwich, humming and singing along to the melody playing on her ipod. She was in her casual clothes: a red-white baseball top and some denim leggings. Nothing special, but at the same time...with the way light was hitting her hair, the way her pink lips moved with the music, and the way her eyes sparkled at the simplicity of it all…it was a pretty sight to behold.

"Jaime!" Cassie yelped, causing said boy to jump away from his intimate thoughts. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Uh…." Jaime scratched the back of his head, tempted to lie. But, it _was_ Cassie. "Long enough…I heard you sing."

"You did?" Cassie smacked her hand against her head as she groaned, "Oh, I'm so embarrassed. I'm terrible at singing but I love doing it anyway and I thought no one was around and now you've heard it and must have been awful - "

"No," Jaime shook his head. "It was nice actually. Like the song you were singing. Bubbly is the title? Yes, yes, it was very…bubbly."

"You…you liked it?" she fumbled with thenfolds of her shirt and looked at him with mild fascination. "I never thought…I never thought anyone would like my singing."

Jaime chuckled, "Well I do. Say, maybe we should perform karaoke sometime together. We'd make a pretty good team."

"Really?" Cassie squealed, "I love that kind of stuff! Maybe we should have a team competition or something!"

"Yeah, maybe we should," Jaime said as he made his way towards her side of the counter, "Say, what'cha making? Mind if I join you?"

Cassie smiled, "No, not at all."


	5. Code

"Jaime!" Cassie called from behind her boyfriend. "What'cha up to?"

"Oh, you know…" Jaime turned around on the couch, a lopsided grin twisting onto his face. "Just whatever."

"Whatever?" Cassie gasped and waved a finger at him. "Without me? For shame!"

_What is the female talking about?_ the Scarab intruded on his conversation._ Whatever is not a word that denotes activity. How can one join another in 'whatever?'_

"You're welcomed to join me," Jaime ignored the Scarab, his grin widening by the second. "You know, in my whatevering."

"Hmmmm…." Cassie stroked her chin and poked her cheek out in mock thought. "Well, I suppose. Meet me in five minutes in my room? We can whatever more there. And make sure to clean your room before then?"

_Is this some kind of code?_ the Scarab asked, a little irritated that its host had yet to respond to him. _How foolish, I can easily decipher it within seconds._

"Will do," Jaime winked and Cassie giggled as she floated back to her room.

"And if you're lucky," Cassie shouted from the hallway, "There might be some teamworking involved..."

Jaime licked his lips, a sudden anticipation pooling over his stomach.

When she was out of her superb earshot, Jaime's eyes narrowed and he took a long sigh before replying, "Alright, Scarab. I got five minutes. Let me explain some things to you…"


	6. Balloons

"Which one do you want, Cassie?" Jaime asked as he took his wallet out. He would never voice it, but he did appreciate that she was amused and pleased by simple items such as balloons or candy bars.

"Ooo, how about the blue and the black and the red and the yellow ones!" Cassie exclaimed, her smile bright and wide. "Our colors!"

He couldn't help but smile back, giving the appropriate amount of money to the vendor. "Yes. Our colors."

So, there he was with his girlfriend at a street fair with 20 balloons. All _their_ colors.


	7. Fascination

"Say, Jaime," Cassie said as she twirled around in the sky after their third date. They still hadn't told the team yet about their little relationship, but they had decided it was best to test out their feelings before indulging their piqued curiosity. "Can you do any tricks with that canon?"

"Tricks?" Jaime quirked his head and Cassie had the resist to urge to laugh. It was always a whole new experience with Jaime when he was in his armor. The facial expressions, the yellow eyes, the way he moved. It should have been intimidating, daunting even. Something powerful to their foes. But with Cassie, she just found it adorable. "What kind of tricks are you looking for?"

"Oh…I don't know," Cassie giggled, flying higher into the sky, wind rushing past her. Jaime followed suit, his head still cocked in mild confusion. "Like…something with the canon. Can you make it shoot out like fireworks?"

"Fireworks? You do know this is a dangerous weapon that can vaporize everything in its path, right?" Jaime replied from behind her.

Cassie huffed and crossed her arms, trying her best to imitate the pout he had unwittingly admitted to being unable to resist, "Yeah, I know…but…it would be super cool to see you try! Please, I promise we can go to the Mexican…uh…what's it called again…_tienda_? _Marketa_? Something like that. You know, where they barter and stuff…"

She continued to trail on, missing the small grin and the soft expression gracing her companion's face. Talk of their potential fourth date along with her infamous pout was more than enough for Jaime to cave to her every whim.

"Alright Cassie, let me try," Jaime said, "Stand back and let's see if this works."

Cassie turned and let out a bright smile, resisting the urge to tackle him. Instead, she did as she was told and flew behind him, treading her fingers along his shoulders. Jaime's skin tingled and he could feel heat rise to his cheeks. It was a good thing he couldn't fly without his armor. Also a good thing the Scarab had realized a week or two ago that Cassie posed no threat to them or it would be going haywire right now.

Raising his arm, Jaime concentrated and watched as his arms evolved into his canon, firing up a neon blue. He narrowed his eyes as he shot out a beam of bright blue light. It flew off a hundred feet off into the sky with just enough exertion to burst out and sparkle against the midnight canvas.

Cassie's eyes widened and shined, taking in the sight before her. It was simply…fascinating.

"Wow," she let out as she raised herself up and draped her arms across Jaime's shoulders, tracing circles across his chest. "Now_ that_ is a cool trick."

Jaime shivered, "Yeah, I guess it is."


	8. Namesakes

"Hey Jaime," Cassie asked him, her gaze fixed on the stars outside of his window. "Do you think we'll ever live up to them?"

Jaime scratched the back of his head and dragged his body over to the other side of the bed. After a rather intense training session with the rest of the team, they had decided to wind down and take a nap in his room. It had been wonderful to feel her firm waist underneath his arms, hear her breathe in and out in a peaceful lull. He had woken up refreshed and ready to grab some late night grub. But there was Cassie, sitting up and bathed in white moonlight. Her expression forlorn, her voice soft. It was unusual for her.

"Who, Cass?" Jaime traced his fingers across her shoulders. "Who are you talking about?"

"My mentor," Cassie sighed. "Your namesake."

_Oh._ She was in one of those moods again. They were common for him but rare for her. She rarely questioned her future. It had been set in stone the day she was born.

His whole future had never been set in stone though. He could lose control and Khaji Da could consume him. Destroy the people he loved, just like that. He could still pose a threat to the world he wanted so desperately to protect and save.

Jaime crawled up and sat behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist once again. His legs tangled around her and he sunk his head into her blonde hair, brushing his lips across her neck.

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Jaime whispered.

Cassie pulled her head back. A gentle smile adorned her pink lips as she grabbed his head and pushed him into her.


	9. Favorite Flavor

"So, what's your favorite flavor?" Cassie asked as they entered the ice cream parlor, decorated in bright blues and yellows.

"Vanilla," Jaime shrugged.

"Vanilla?" Cassie pursed her lips. "but that's so boring! You're not just going to get just that, are you?"

"Well, yeah," Jaime quirked an eyebrow, "It is my favorite…kind of."

"But what about all the other exciting flavors?" Cassie waved him over to the glass where all the flavors were displayed. "How about cookies and cream or chocolate wave or cookie dough or, or…something! Anything but vanilla!"

"But it's what I like," Jaime repeated, "it's what makes me happy. It's sweet, simple…I like it."

Cassie huffed out an exaggerated breath and gave her boyfriend a quick look over before standing up straight and crossing her arms, "Fine! Get what you want. I'll be the adventurous one in this relationship and get the chocolate wave with the blueberry scone."

Jaime chuckled, "You do that."

They paid for their ice cream and walked outside into the summer night. Although still a little peeved, Cassie still took Jaime's hand into her own while she licked her way through her variety of delicious ice cream, happy with her choice.

After they finished, they made their way to the park nearby and sat on an empty bench. They were quiet, fingers entangled and shoulders touching as they gazed absentmindedly at the stars above.

"Hey Cassie," Jaime piped up, his fingers tightening just a bit around hers. "You want to know a secret?"

"Sure," Cassie replied, intrigued.

"Here, come closer," he tugged at her fingers.

She did as she was told and just as she was about to touch his nose, Jaime swooped in and kissed her. Cassie sighed into his lips and put her free hand onto his neck, deepening the kiss. It lasted for a moment or two more longer when Jaime smiled against her mouth, flicking his tongue over his lips and smiling.

"You're my favorite flavor," Jaime whispered, closing the distance between them and resting his forehead on top of hers.

Cassie blushed and bit her lip, stifling a giggle, "That was really cheesy…but really cute."

"Don't you mean creamy?" Jaime responded, his grin morphing into a smirk, "We were talking about ice cream after all."

Cassie scoffed and tried to pull away, but Jaime scooped her back into his arms and kissed her again.

Exactly what she had wanted.


	10. Spaceship

"Hey, what would you do with a spaceship if you had one?"

"Well…we kind of already have one of those…"

"I meant your own, dummy!"

"Hey! Ow! You do remember you're stronger than me, right?"

"Sorry…I just want to know okay?"

"Alright, alright….I don't know what I'd do. Probably want to see the Milky Way galaxy first and then go from there. Something simple like that. Maybe travel to another solar system, explore and discover new planets…."

"Cool! Can I come with?"

"Of course. You're the mythology nerd, I need you to tell me what all the planets mean to one another."

"It's not mythology if it's true!"

"Right, right, I get you…"


End file.
